Pouch for retort food

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a pouch for retort food, and more particularly, to a pouch for retort food wherein the pouch is put into a microwave oven in a state where food is stored therein and is used for heating food, and from which steam generated during a cooking process may be properly exhausted, thereby improving the texture and taste of food and having reduced manufacturing costs.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates to a pouch for retort food, and more particularly, to a pouch for retort food, the pouch not requiring a separate opening for retort food during microwave cooking and being able to self-discharge steam during a cooking process, thereby improving the texture and taste of food.

2. Description of the Related Art

A pouch used for retort food is generally placed in a microwave for cooking after making an incision therein and opening the pouch for retort food using a notch or a cutting tool. In this case, depending on the size of the pouch to be opened, dryness or temperature deviation on the surface of the product may occur. This may result in product (food) quality deterioration.

To solve this problem, a pouch for retort food that may be cooked in a microwave without cutting the pouch for retort food has been developed.

However, in the case of a pouch for retort food to be cooked in a microwave oven without cutting as described above there is a problem in that a sheet of the pouch is ruptured by steam generated in the pouch for retort food during the microwave cooking process. In this case, as the pouch for retort food is ruptured, there is a problem in that the content of the pouch may leak out of the pouch, and the quality of the product is deteriorated.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a pouch for retort food that may be microwave-cooked without cutting the pouch for retort food and may appropriately control steam pressure.

SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to provide a pouch for retort food that may self-discharge steam during a cooking process without opening of the pouch for retort food during microwave cooking.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.

A pouch for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a sheet forming an inner space according to fusion of edges of the sheet; a perforated line formed in the sheet; and an exhaust unit formed at at least one position of the sheet.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the exhaust unit may include a first exhaust unit, the first exhaust unit may include one or more first exhaust holes, and the first exhaust hole may pass through the sheet.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the one or more first exhaust holes may include a plurality of holes, and the plurality of first exhaust holes formed at a center position of the sheet.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of first exhaust holes may include 6 to 9 holes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of first exhaust holes may include 6 holes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the exhaust unit may further include a second exhaust unit formed at at least one position of the sheet and positioned closer to the perforated line than the first exhaust unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second exhaust unit may include one or more second exhaust hoes, and the one or more second exhaust holes may include a hole passing through the sheet.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the one or more second exhaust holes may include a plurality of holes, and the plurality of second exhaust holes may be formed in parallel to the perforated line.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of second exhaust holes may include 3 to 5 holes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of second exhaust holes may include 3 holes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the one or more first exhaust holes are formed on a front surface of the pouch for retort food, and the one or more second exhaust holes are formed on a rear surface of the pouch for retort food.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the perforated line may include a cutting start portion, the cutting start portion may be located at one end of the perforated line, and the second exhaust hole may be located at the other end of the perforated line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a pouch for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part B of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 shows a temperature distribution when heating a product using a pouch for retort food according to the prior art, and FIG. 5 shows a temperature distribution when heating a product using a pouch for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a table comparing a heating result of products using a pouch for retort food according to the prior art with that of products using a pouch for retort food according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 7 to 10 show examples of comparing pouches for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention, and show results of experiments with different configurations of a first exhaust unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, the embodiments are merely described below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of the present description. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a pouch 1 for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 1 , and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part B of FIG. 1 .

In the following description, the left-right direction refers to the X-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 , and the vertical direction refers to the Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 as a reference.

The pouch 1 for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a sheet 10. In addition, the sheet 10 may be provided with a perforated line 40 and an exhaust unit 50.

The sheet 10 may be composed of a synthetic resin film having a predetermined area.

In the pouch 1 for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention, a fusion part 20 in which the edges of the two sheets 10 are fused to each other is provided on the outside, and an inner space 30 having a predetermined volume may be formed inside the fusion part 20. The edge means an outer peripheral portion of the sheet 10, and does not mean only an outermost portion. In addition, the term two sheets 10 does not mean only the two sheets 10 separated from each other. For example, one sheet 10 is folded so that one portion and another portion of the sheet 10 are fused to each other, and the inner space 30 may be formed between the fused portions. The formation of the inner space 30 between the fusion portions does not depart from the scope of the present invention. The sheet 10 may include a front sheet 10 positioned in front of the inner space 30 and a rear sheet 10 positioned in the rear of the inner space 30.

Food and the like may be accommodated in the inner space 30.

At least one position of the sheet 10 is provided with the perforated line 40. The perforated line 40 is formed so that the user may easily cut the sheet 10. That is, the perforated line 40 may have an easy-tear configuration. The perforated line 40 may be, for example, a part processed through laser processing, stamping, or the like. Each processing part constituting the perforated line 40 may have a depth of, for example, 8 μm to 10 μm and a width of 200 μm to 400 μm. The perforated line 40 may be formed long in the left and right direction on the upper portion of the sheet 10, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 .

As the perforated line 40 having the above configuration is provided, the pouch 1 for retort food according to the present invention may be easily opened using the perforated line 40. In addition, as the perforated line 40 has the same depth and width as described above, it may have the effect of achieving simple opening of the pouch 1 for retort food, at the same time, may have an effect of preventing the occurrence of unintentional breakage of the perforated line 40 in the microwave cooking process. For example, in the case of the perforated line 40 having a depth of 10 μm to 12 μm, it was confirmed that unintentional breakage occurred during the microwave cooking process.

On the other hand, according to the embodiment, the perforated line 40 may be provided with a cutting start portion 42. The cutting start portion 42 is a portion that may be started to be cut when the user cuts the perforated line 40, and is a portion that the user may grip the pouch for retort food by hand. As shown in FIG. 1 , a marker for inducing a user's grip may be displayed on the cutting start portion 42.

An exhaust unit 100 is formed at at least one position of the sheet 10.

The exhaust unit 100 may include at least one of the first exhaust unit 100 and the second exhaust unit 200.

The first exhaust unit 100 may be formed at at least one position of the sheet 10. According to the embodiment, the first exhaust unit 100 may be located at a central portion of the sheet 10.

The first exhaust unit 100 may be provided on at least one of the front sheet 10 constituting the front surface of the inner space 30 and the rear sheet 10 constituting the rear surface of the inner space 30.

The first exhaust unit 100 may include at least one first exhaust hole 102. The first exhaust hole 102 is configured as a hole passing through the sheet 10.

The first exhaust unit 100 may function as a vapor discharge void that prevents the sheet 10 of the retort food pouch 1 from being ruptured by vapor pressure during a cooking process using a microwave oven.

The first exhaust hole 102 may be a plurality of holes. According to the embodiment, the first exhaust hole 102 may be, for example, 6 to 9 holes. When the number of the first exhaust holes 102 is less than 6, the exhaust of the steam may not be sufficient during the cooking process, so that the sheet 10 may be ruptured. When the number of the first exhaust holes 102 is more than 9, steam is excessively exhausted during the cooking process, so that the steam pressure may not be maintained, and sanitary problems may occur. The number of first exhaust holes 102 may be six. When the number of the first exhaust holes 102 is 6, the rupture of the sheet 10 is prevented during the cooking process, and the steam pressure and temperature are properly maintained, and the possibility of sanitary problems may be low.

The arrangement of a plurality of first exhaust holes 102 may be arbitrary. According to the embodiment, when the number of the first exhaust holes 102 is 6, the first exhaust hole 102 may have a structure in which it has a matrix structure of 3×2 horizontally and vertically. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The shape and size of each of the first exhaust holes 102 may be constant. For example, the first exhaust hole 102 may be a hole having a width P. The width P of the first exhaust hole 102 may be, for example, 200 μm to 300 μm.

A distance between the first exhaust holes 102 may have a predetermined size D1.

According to an embodiment, D1 may be 3 mm to 4 mm. That is, when D1 is too small or too large, an appropriate exhaust effect may not be ensured, or a portion between the first exhaust holes 102 may be torn, so that D1 may be 3 mm to 4 mm.

The second exhaust unit 200 may be positioned adjacent to the perforated line 40. Here, being adjacent to the perforated line 40 means that the position of the second exhaust unit 200 is adjacent to the perforated line 40 compared to the position of the first exhaust unit 100.

The second exhaust unit 200 may include at least one second exhaust hole 202. The second exhaust hole 202 includes a hole penetrating the sheet 10.

The second exhaust unit 200 may be a vapor discharge void that prevents the sheet 10 of the retort food pouch 1 from being ruptured by vapor pressure during the cooking process using a microwave oven, and may function as an anti-bursting void that prevents the perforated line 40 from being unintentionally broken, particularly by steam pressure.

The second exhaust hole 202 may be plural. According to the embodiment, the number of the second exhaust holes 202 may be 3 to 5, for example. When the number of the second exhaust holes 202 is less than three, the steam may not be sufficiently exhausted during the cooking process, and thus the perforated line 40 may be broken. When the number of the second exhaust holes 202 is more than 5, steam is excessively exhausted during the cooking process, so that the steam pressure may not be maintained, and sanitary problems may occur. There may be three second exhaust holes 202. When the number of the second exhaust holes 202 is three, the steam pressure is sufficiently maintained while the breakage of the perforated line 40 is prevented during the cooking process, and the possibility of sanitary problems may be low.

Table 1 below is a table showing experimental results depending on the number of the second exhaust holes 202. In Table 1 below, the case where the breakage of the perforated line 40 occurs or the sheet 10 is damaged is indicated as Fail, and the case where the breakage of the perforated line 40 is prevented is indicated as Pass.

TABLE 1 Sample number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Number 2 2 2 3 3 3 5 3 5 of second exhaust holes Pass/ Fail Fail Fail Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Fail

As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that unintentional breakage of the perforated line 40 or the damage of the sheet 10 occurred when the number of the second exhaust holes 202 was 2 or less. On the other hand, when the number of the second exhaust holes 202 exceeds three, it was confirmed that breakage of the perforated line 40 is prevented, but a steam discharge is somewhat excessive. Therefore, the number of the second exhaust holes 202 is preferably three.

The arrangement of the plurality of second exhaust holes 202 may be arbitrary.

According to the embodiment, the plurality of second exhaust holes 202 may be arranged left and right to form one row. In addition, the second exhaust hole 202 may be arranged parallel to the perforated line 40. With this arrangement, it is possible to keep the vapor pressure applied to the perforated line 40 reasonably low.

The shape and size of each of the second exhaust holes 202 may be constant. For example, the second exhaust hole 202 may be a hole having a width Q. The width Q of the second exhaust hole 202 may be, for example, 400 μm to 500 μm.

A distance between the second exhaust holes 202 may have a predetermined size D2.

The second exhaust hole 202 may have a predetermined distance D3 from the perforated line 40.

According to an embodiment, D2 and D3 may be 2 mm to 4 mm. That is, when D2 and D3 are too large, the effect of preventing breakage of the perforated line 40 during microwave cooking may not be secured, or when D2 and D3 are too small, the portion between the perforated line 40 and the second exhaust hole 202, or a portion between the second exhaust holes 202 may be torn off, and thus D2 and D3 may be 2 to 4 mm.

Meanwhile, the first exhaust part 100 and the second exhaust part 200 may be respectively formed on opposite surfaces of the pouch 1 for retort food in the front and rear directions. For example, the first exhaust unit 100 may be formed on the front sheet 10 of the pouch 1 for retort food, and the second exhaust unit 200 may be formed on the rear sheet 10 of the pouch 1 for retort food.

As described above, because the first exhaust portion 100 and the second exhaust portion 200 are respectively formed on opposite surfaces in the front and rear directions of the retort food pouch 1, it is possible to prevent the exhaust pressure from being biased on one surface. Therefore, damage to the pouch 1 for retort food may be prevented.

According to an embodiment, the second exhaust part 200 may be located opposite the cutting start portion 42 of the perforated line 40. That is, when the cutting start portion 42 is located at one end of the perforated line 40, the second exhaust unit 200 may be located at the other end that is the opposite end of the perforated line 40. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , when the cutting start portion 42 of the perforated line 40 is located on the left side of the sheet 10, the second exhaust unit 200 may be located on the right side of the sheet 10 opposite thereto.

As in the above embodiment, the effect of the second exhaust portion 200 positioned on the opposite side of the cutting start portion 42 of the perforated line 40 will be described as follows. When the pouch 1 for retort food in which the cooking process is completed is taken out, residual vapor in the pouch 1 for retort food may be discharged through the second exhaust unit 200. At this time, when the user holds the pouch 1 for retort food by hand in order to tear the perforation line 40, in particular, when the portion where the second exhaust part 200 is located is held by hand, the user may be burned by the steam discharged through the second exhaust unit 200.

According to the embodiment, because the cutting start portion 42 of the perforated line 40 is located opposite to the position where the second exhaust unit 200 is located, the user may tear off the perforated line 40 by holding the opposite side of the position where the second exhaust unit 200 is located. In particular, according to the embodiment, a marker inducing the user's grip may be in the cut-out start portion 42, and the user may naturally avoid gripping the position where the second exhaust part 200 is located and grip the cutting start portion 42. Accordingly, the possibility of occurrence of burn accidents as described above may be reduced.

In addition, according to the embodiment, when the user grips the pouch 1 for retort food according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user avoids gripping the place (the first exhaust unit 100 and the second exhaust unit 200) through which the steam is exhausted and is capable of gripping other position, so that the occurrence of burn accidents as described above may be prevented and user convenience may be improved.

Hereinafter, the experimental results of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4 shows the temperature distribution when heating a product using the pouch 1 for retort food according to the prior art, and FIG. 5 shows the temperature distribution during heating of a product using the pouch 1 for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a table comparing them.

As may be seen in FIGS. 4 to 6 , it may be seen that the heating temperature of the product using the pouch 1 for retort food according to the embodiment of the present invention is relatively uniform and has a high temperature distribution.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show comparative examples of the pouch 1 for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention, and show experimental results in which the configuration of the first exhaust unit 100 is changed.

The purpose of the experiment is to check whether the quality of steamed dumpling products is maintained when cooked in a microwave (1000 W, 2 minutes cooking), and is to confirm the result of different (0, 6, 9) the number of the first exhaust holes 102 of the first exhaust unit 100.

The experimental results are as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 .

According to the experimental results, it may be confirmed that when the number of the first exhaust holes 102 is 6, the overall internal temperature is maintained, and the effect of shortening the cooking time may also be achieved.

In addition, as a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the middle position of the pouch 1 for retort food was most appropriate for the position of the first exhaust hole 102.

Hereinafter, the use and effects of the pouch 1 for retort food according to the present invention will be described.

The pouch 1 for retort food according to the present invention is put into a microwave oven without cutting the perforated line 40 and heated. That is, it is not necessary to separately open the pouch 1 for retort food before microwave cooking. Accordingly, the steam generated in the process of cooking the food in the pouch 1 for retort food is filled in the inner space 30 and may stay there.

In this case, the first exhaust unit 100 may act as a vapor exhaust passage. That is, when the vapor pressure of the vapor generated in the inner space 30 reaches a predetermined range or more, the vapor may be self-discharged to the outside of the inner space 30 through the first exhaust unit 100.

Accordingly, when the vapor pressure in the inner space 30 reaches a certain level, the vapor is exhausted through the first exhaust unit 100, so that the sheet 10 may be prevented from being unintentionally ruptured.

In the pouch 1 for retort food according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vapor pressure in the inner space 30 may be constantly maintained during a cooking process using a microwave oven. That is, because the steam pressure generated in the heating process using a microwave oven may be kept constant, the temperature and quality of the product are constant, and heating may be performed quickly. In addition, steam is maintained inside the pouch 1 for retort food during the heating process, so that the product does not dry out and moisture may be maintained.

In addition, because the moisture and pressure in the inner space 30 are maintained relatively high, cooking in the form of steam may be achieved. Accordingly, the texture of the heated food may be further improved.

In addition, the pouch 1 for retort food according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a second exhaust unit 200 at a position adjacent to the perforated line 40. As the second exhaust unit 200 is positioned adjacent to the perforated line 40, the vapor pressure applied to the perforated line 40 and around the perforated line 40 may be maintained relatively low compared to the vapor pressure at other locations. Accordingly, it is possible to more effectively prevent the perforated line 40 from being unintentionally broken during the cooking process using the microwave oven.

In the pouch for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention, the vapor pressure in the inner space may be constantly maintained during a cooking process using a microwave oven. That is, because the steam pressure generated in the heating process using a microwave oven may be kept constant, the temperature and quality of the product are constant, and heating may be performed quickly. In addition, steam is maintained inside the pouch for retort food during the heating process, so that the product does not dry out and moisture may be maintained.

In addition, because moisture and pressure in the inner space are maintained relatively high, steamed cooking may be performed. Accordingly, the texture of the heated food may be further improved.

In addition, the pouch for retort food according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a second exhaust unit at a position adjacent to the perforated line. The second exhaust unit may maintain the vapor pressure applied to the perforated line and around the perforated line to be relatively low compared to vapor pressures at other locations. Accordingly, it is possible to more effectively prevent the perforated line from being unintentionally broken during the cooking process using the microwave oven.

It should be understood that embodiments described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments. While one or more embodiments have been described with reference to the figures, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims. 

1. A pouch for retort food, the pouch comprising: a sheet forming an inner space according to fusion of edges of the sheet; a perforated line formed in the sheet; and an exhaust unit formed at at least one position of the sheet, wherein the exhaust unit comprises a first exhaust unit and a second exhaust unit positioned closer to the perforated line than the first exhaust unit, wherein the first exhaust unit includes one or more first exhaust holes, and the one or more first exhaust holes pass through the sheet, wherein the one or more first exhaust holes comprises a plurality of first exhaust holes, and the plurality of first exhaust holes are formed at a center position of the sheet, wherein the one or more second exhaust holes comprise a plurality of second exhaust holes, and the plurality of second exhaust holes are formed in parallel to the perforated line, and wherein the plurality of second exhaust holes comprise three to five second exhaust holes.
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first exhaust holes comprises 6 to 9 first exhaust holes.
 5. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first exhaust holes comprises 6 first exhaust holes. 6-9. (canceled)
 10. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second exhaust holes comprises 3 second exhaust holes.
 11. The pouch claim 1, wherein the one or more first exhaust holes are formed in the front surface of the pouch for retort food, and the one or more second exhaust holes are formed on the rear surface of the pouch for retort food.
 12. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the perforated line includes a cutting start portion, the cutting start portion is located at one end of the perforated line, and the second exhaust unit is located at the other end of the perforated line. 